This Arab British Business, the fortnightly bulletin of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce reports that the provincial council in Basra has discussed a new plan to attract investment in government-owned factories in order to restart productive operations.
Basra aims to provide investors with all the needs of such factories, starting with re-operating the cement factory of Umm Qasr, which is one of the important factories in Basra, to meet the needs of the southern region of cement, the Iraq Directory reported 19/09/2009.
Member of Basra provincial council, Jaafar Al-Moussawi, said in a press statement, “The provincial council in Basra began working to restart the stalled factories since the fall of the former regime and started with the cement factory of Umm Qasr which the investor will provide all its shortages that hinder work.”
For his part, Deputy Director of Umm Qasr cement factory, Talib Odah, said, “The factory suffers from some shortages which hamper it from working at full production capacity; the factory has two production lines, each with a capacity of 50 tons per hour and the project of manufacturing for others is very important to increase imports of the factory and brings it back to its maximum capacity.”
He noted that the factory is “in need for the (clinker) material, electric power up to 7.5 MW and bags of cement; if the investor provides these needs, the production of the factory will reach at least 20 thousand tons per month.
Odah explained, “Iraqi cement in is one of the finest known cement in the world. The factory used to export cement to Arab and foreign countries and it was subject to the Iraq standardization and quality control; also, Iraq’s standards provide a guarantee by 20% over the English industry. The factory will supply the three southern provinces (Basra, Amarah and Nasiriyah) with cement once it returns to its original production capacity.”
The cement factory of Umm Qasr is one of the units of the South General Company for Cement affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals. The factory began production in 1972 with cement used for export and for supplying the southern region. It ceased operating after 2003 and production has become erratic because of a large number of weaknesses, but the factory will soon restart operating to supply the local market with Iraqi cement.
Rich in raw materials
Iraq is rich in the raw materials needed by the construction industry, but needs investors to help upgrade and modernise some of its production facilities, according to the Iraqi National Investment Commission.
Cement
Iraq has significant deposits of lime, silica, and other materials used in manufacturing cement.
Brick
Producing in Diyala and Baghdad, Iraq’s brick factories utilize locally available clay, sand and other materials.
Glass
The glass factory in Anbar province (built in 1959) uses locally available sand and other materials.
Steel
The factory near Basra produces steel pipes for the oil industry and other products. Prior to 2003, it used locally available scrap metal and imported other raw materials..
Marble
There are significant deposits of several types of marble in the north and in Al Anbar Province in the western part of Iraq.
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